Welcome to St. John!
The beach at the westin is o.k.(bar service and the pool is nice) but the best beaches in the USVI are mostly on STJ. There are many beaches so get a map and ask lots of people for their favorites. There are hiking beaches like honeymoon, watermelon, salt pond, and jumbie to name a few. If you are looking for easy access, there is Cinnamon, Hawksnest, Maho, and Trunk Bay(a must). You could spend an entire week just checking out all the beaches on STJ. I only named some of the beaches!
Rental vehicles are available all over and you shouldnt have a problem, i believe it is in the ballpark of 50-60 a day. Otherwise, the westin does have a good supply of safari taxis available early morning till around 11pm, then the service thins out. You will pay 3$ per ride per person to Cruz Bay and more for the beaches. It is an experience to ride the safaris but with limited time and lots of fun things to explore, i would rent a vehicle for at least a few days. I hope you have a good time.

Just a small correction... it's WaterLEMON Cay.

JET

Megan -

By all means visit other beaches while you're on St John! Once you get there and look at the Westin beach you'll think "this looks pretty nice". But, trust us, you haven't seen anything yet.

We've stayed several times on St John, once at the Westin. A car is not a must (but nice) for the entire stay - plan at least one, maybe two days for a rental car. The Westin has cars available for rent. Taxi's are plentiful at the Westin and not very expensive. Easy to get in and out of town for dinner (don't only eat at the resort either!) and to the main beaches.

Chris mentions the rich variety of options above...I agree, there are more beaches than you can possibly see in a week. So, here are some ideas...in any sequence:

Cinnamon Bay - Take taxi from the botel for the day - return taxis are plentiful, don't worry. This is a "full service" beach...beach chair/snorkle/wind surfers/sailboat/etc rentals, resturant (not too great), small convenience store, cold beverages (including adult beverages..just beer/wine), etc. Also changing rooms and fresh water showers. Good place for an full day at the beach. Good snorkling to the right side of the beach as you look at the water. I like this because it is generally less crowded than:

Trunk Bay - This is the "famous" St John beach. Again, take the taxi to this one. This is also a full service beach with similar rentals, food, beverages, etc. Also good for a full day at the beach. This is where the US Park Service has established a snorkling trail. It is very popular with the cruise ship crowd, so it can get a little crowded sometimes, especially between 10:30-1:30, but usually not too bad. When you get there just walk a ways down to the left to find a more private location. the cruisers all just plop down right where they walk in. Snorkle around the island you'll see, but also try the far left hand side...don't be afraid to go out a ways...barracuda, sea turtles here our last visit. My group likes this one best, personally I prefer the more secluded beaches.

Day Trips:

The Westin offers various day trips from thier pier to the BVI. If your budget allows, this is fun. I like both the Yost Van Dyke sail and the Virgin Gorda trrip to The Baths. Bring passports for this.

St John Beaches by rental car:

Here's a full day. Grab rental car at the hotel, bring snorkel stuff if you have it or rent from dive shop at Westin. A cooler with water (other drinks too) is big bonus as none of these beaches have anything available. Worst case, bring a couple of bottled waters for each of you.

Driving is an adventure - left side of road, very narrow roads, mountainous, with many shape turns - but not a "bad" adventure. It's just about impossible to drive faster than 25-30 mph so it's all pretty much under control.

If it's early enough, have breakfast at Chilly Billy's in town. Thne head to the beaches. Since you're renting a car, drive past the northside beaches you can easily get to another day by taxi. Stop by Maho Bay by the side of the road and walk it. Then off to Francis Bay - the last two times we did this we were the only ones there for a couple of hours outside the folks moored on thier sailboats. Snorkel out a ways to the east end where the beach gets rocky to swim with turtles and rays. You may need to go quite a ways from shore to see the turtles. Very cool.

Then drive over to Coral Bay, explore a little. We like to have lunch and great frozen drinks at Shipwreck Landing.

Keep heading away from Coral Bay to Salt Pond Bay. Be very sure you have water before you go to Salt Pond. It is on the arid side of the island. Its a quarter mile to beach from road, downhill is easy, uphill afterwards is tougher - save some water. Good hikes here - Ram's Head is cool. Snorkel on left side and out very deep...octopus, eel, squid, turtles here last visit. Then hike back up hill to jeep. Generally not too many people here either.

Head back to Coral Bay and take Centerline back to town. Stop at Chateau Bordeaux for a drink and to soak in unbelievable views. Finish drive back into town. Find a spot to park (good luck). Frozen libations for a while then dinner at The Lime Inn (many other good eateries)... Then head back to the hotel.

Then do it again another day, but by then you'll be expert enough to invent your own unique and fun itinerary.

Have a great time.

bob

Hello Magen,

Yes visit other beaches as Chris and Bob suggested - lots of great ones on St. John. On this site go to the St. John guide, and select Beaches - there is a great beach guide with pictures and descrtiptions. You can go through and look at what others suggested or choose the ones you like.

--Islander

Thank you all soooo much for your advice! We can't wait to go and check it all out =)